Empowering and Protecting Young People in their Digital Practices

In a digital environment that disrupts media and cultural practices, Vivendi, as soon as 2003, has defined the empowerment and protection of young people as a CSR strategic issue. Since 2010, this issue is one of the CSR criteria taken into consideration in the variable compensation of the group’s senior executives.

Vivendi offers creative digital content, interactive services and access to media particularly sought after by young audiences. Internet, music, films and audiovisual works are all opportunities for fostering creativity, talent, self-expression and access to knowledge. Although as sources of fulfillment, these digital offerings can expose young Internet users to risks: divulging personal information, access to inappropriate content, or excessive use.

Main focus of the area for action

Empowering youth

Enabling young people to express their creativity and civic engagement

Give young peopke a voice on their cultural and digital practices ules of professional ethics

Familiarize them with career opportunities in the creative and cultural industries

Protecting youth

Promote rules of professional ethics

Carry out awareness campaigns

Offer the appropriate tools to parents and young people

Some examples of initiatives and best practices

Empowering youth

Involving young citizens and students in discussions about the CSR of the media sector is fully integrated within Vivendi’s approach. This is why, as part of its partnership with Sciences Po, Vivendi wanted to solicit the viewpoints of the students in the Europe-Africa program by inviting them to write an essay on the theme of cultural diversity and digital in Africa. The students, aged 17 to 19, who produced the best essays were awarded a prize during a ceremony at UNESCO celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Their essays were published on Culture(s) with Vivendi.

As part of the Sciences Po – Vivendi Grand Prix for Media CSR Innovation (find out more), Vivendi’s webradio Vivoice gave the floor to Canal+ Afrique General Director David Mignot, as well as to the Grand Prix winners Manuela Boma-Atta and Julie Bourdin.

Wikiradio Saooti

Encouraging creative talent expression

Vivendi’s businesses pursue a number of initiatives to encourage young people to express their creativity. In November 2015 in Africa, Canal+ launched the MDR! project (Mort de rire, or Dying of laughter) in partnership with CFI, the French media cooperation agency, to identify and train the African talent of tomorrow who will participate in the development of new short comedy programs. UMG owned Abbey Road Studios established the Abbey Road Institute: since September 2015, this educational institution has offered one-year apprenticeship courses. After training under the studio’s professionals, the students receive a diploma in sound engineering and musical production. This training is not only offered in London, the studio’s historical home, but also in Australia, Germany and France.

As soon as 2008 Vivendi has adopted a Data and Content Protection Charter in which the group reaffirmed its commitment to preventing the spread of illegal material, particularly with regard to children.

In addition to providing secure spaces for young audiences on both linear and on-demand media services (such as Canalplay Kids and Kids by Watchever), Vivendi’s subsidiaries provide parents with a number of control tools and with content classification by age group for content available on the Internet. For instance, See Tickets, a subsidiary of Vivendi Village, informs its customers about the age limit for concerts offered on its site. In 2015, Universal Music Group expanded the scope of its online video age rating project, launched in the United Kingdom in 2014, to include four other top countries in terms of revenue: France, Germany, Japan and the United States.

Vivendi’s business units set up dedicated structures and processes. the Piwi+ channel dedicated to young viewers relies on an advisory ethics committee composed of pediatricians, educators and parents to ensure that its offer is in line with Canal+’s commitments to protect children and teenagers. . nc+, Canal+ Group’s subsidiary in Poland, ensures supervision of advertising communications targeting the youngest audience: commercials are assessed on the basis of an internal charter, the principles of which were established in compliance with national and international regulations (including the 1989 International Convention on the Rights of the Child).